Talisman Quotes

“He fired once, twice—the Smith & Wesson’s throaty cough drowned out in the hail of fully-automatic fire. The first round splintered the frame of the door near the sergeant’s head. The second buried itself in his shoulder.
To his credit, he didn’t drop the rifle, but it gave Tex all the opening he needed. The semiautomatic came up, steady in both hands as he fired two more shots—almost as one, a single ragged hole opening where the bridge of the sergeant’s nose had once been”
― Stephen England, Talisman

“His arm hooked around one rung of the ladder to keep himself from drifting away in the current, Tex screwed the suppressor into the threaded muzzle of the Smith & Wesson. The first pair of guards were right above him—separated now, one moving to starboard, the other to port.
Shifting the pistol to his left hand, he reached out, pulling himself carefully up on the ladder, water cascading off his wetsuit.
Footsteps above him and the big man paused, pressing himself tight against the side of the boat. Scarce daring to breathe.
And then they passed.
Even separated as they were, the two men still maintained an open line of sight, Tex realized as he raised himself up just high enough to obtain a visual. Weighing his options.
He gave scarcely a moment’s consideration to the dive knife strapped to his ankle before rejecting it. The idea of a knife as a “silent” means of killing was largely a myth—perpetuated by Hollywood and untold scores of novelists over the decades.”
― Stephen England, Talisman

“His big hands moved quickly, efficiently, over the hard polymer—re-assembling the Smith & Wesson M&P Compact he’d brought with him across the unguarded border with France.
No borders. It was a lofty idea, in theory. In reality, it only served to make the work of men like him easier. He lifted the semi-automatic pistol in one hand, sliding a full double-stacked magazine into the grip. Twelve rounds of 9mm Federal Hydra-Shok, jacketed hollowpoints. Carrying hardball wouldn’t have been of much use—pistol rounds weren’t going to go through good body armor on the best of days. The Smith & Wesson went into a holster under his armpit, in a cross-draw position.
Another pair of loaded magazines went into the pocket of his motorcycle jacket. Along with a long, thin suppressor.”
― Stephen England, Talisman